Global protests rise as Israeli attacks rise; the West continues double standard

Activists around the world participate in “emergency protests”
Editing by Carolyn Bennett

Déjà vu nearly four years after Operation Cast Lead

Three years ago under similar pretexts as now, the Israeli government executed a war on Gaza that left more than a thousand Palestinians dead. Thirteen Israelis, four of them under “friendly fire,” died in a carnage Israel called “Operation Cast Lead”, the people of Gaza called the “Gaza Massacre.”

Today at Stop the War Coalition, Lindsey German points up the disgraceful double standard of western leaders in the face of varieties of conflicts in the Middle East. “The ‘humanitarian intervention’ that Britain and France are demanding in Syria,” he writes, “is not going to happen in Gaza.” In varying degrees —

\"… All Western governments will back Israel — just as they did during the massacre of December 27, 2008– January 18, 2009.\"

The reason for the double standard is simple, he says, “human life and security is way down the list when it comes to considering the interests of the U.S., British and other western foreign policy.

“At the top of the list is strategic control and power in the region. This is why the West happily dealt with dictators for decades and why the West wants regime change in countries not totally under its control, such as Syria and Iran. … Israel is central to the U.S. and its allies in the Middle East; hence a staggering level of double standards — and the portrayal of Israel not as aggressor, but as victim.”

The position taken by the West is, he notes, in marked contrast to many views in the Middle East. Egyptian President Mohammad Morsi, for example, has condemned Israel’s air strikes on Gaza, recalled the Egyptian ambassador in Israel, and opened the Rafah crossing so that the people of Gaza may get medical treatment.

Across the region and the world, there are protests to the latest Israeli aggression.

As the people of Gaza received unprecedented worldwide solidarity in 2008 and 2009 and will likely receive it in the latest aggression, German says, “if we want peace and justice in the Middle East, we have to oppose intervention in Syria and Iran as well, as it is all part of the same pattern, with the same deadly intent.”

In the latest afternoon and early evening news from Gaza as reported by Press TV and sources

Israel today launched a new wave of attacks against the Gaza Strip, killing at least 17 people since yesterday; and Palestinians responded with more than 250 rockets, which have hit several Israeli cities including Tel Aviv.

A Palestinian rocket has landed in southern Israel as recent Israeli military attacks on the Gaza Strip edge closer to becoming an all-out war against the besieged enclave.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hidden in an underground bunker as Palestinians intensify their rocket attacks against Tel Aviv (source: Israel’s Channel 10)

A United Nations agency assisting Palestinian refugees says an Israeli airstrike on the north of Gaza has killed one of its teachers.

“Gaza,” the stories recount, “has been blockaded since 2007, a situation that has caused a decline in the standard of living, unprecedented levels of unemployment, and unrelenting poverty. The apartheid regime of Israel denies about 1.7 million people of Gaza basic rights such as freedom of movement, jobs that pay proper wages, and adequate healthcare and education.”

Emergency Protest response to latest war on Gaza
Reported at the Electronic Intifada
Global

FRIDAY November 16

Aberystwyth (UK) | Aberystwyth University, 6:00 p.m.
Albuquerque (USA) | UNM Bookstore, 5:00 p.m.
Athens (Greece) | Israeli Embassy, 5 p.m.
Birmingham (USA) | 1400 University Boulevard, 1:30 p.m.
Bristol (UK) | The Fountains, 5:00 p.m.
Brussels (Belgium) | Place de la Bourse, 4:00 p.m.
Cairo (Egypt) | Tahrir Square
Cairo (Egypt) | Mosireen (action meeting), 9:00 p.m.
Calgary (Canada) | City Hall, 3:00 p.m.
Cincinnati (USA) | MLK Boulvard and Clifton Avenue, 4:30 p.m.
Cleveland (USA) | Public Square, 4:30 p.m.
Florida (USA) | Gainesville, Turlignton Hall, 11:00 a.m.
Houston (USA) | Intersection of Westheimer & Post Oak Boulevard, 4:30 p.m.
Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) | US Embassy, 2 p.m.
Liverpool (UK) | Outside BBC Radio Merseyside, 5:30 p.m.
Manchester (UK) | Picadilly Gardens, 5:00 p.m.
Michigan | the Diag, University of Michigan, 3:00 p.m.

Milan (Italy) | Piazza del Duomo, 6:00 p.m.
Ottawa (Canada) | Israeli Embassy, 50 O’Connor b/w Queen and Albert, 12:00 p.m.
Palermo (Italy) | Piazza Giuseppe Verdi, 5 p.m.
Perth (Australia) | Murray Street Mall, Perth City, 5:30 p.m.
Philadelphia (USA) | Israeli Consulate, 19th and JFK Boulevard, 12:00 p.m.
Pittsburg (USA) | U.S. Federal Building, 1000 Liberty Avenue, 5:00 p.m.
Sacramento (USA) | Federal Building, 5th and I Street, 4:30 p.m.
San Francisco (USA) | Israeli Consulate, 4:00 p.m.
Seoul (Korea) | Israeli Embassy, Kabool Bulding, 149 Seorin-dong, 110-726, 1:00 p.m.
Wellington (New Zealand) | Cuba Mall, by the Buckets, 12:00 p.m.

SATURDAY November 17

Aberdeen (Scotland) | St. Nicholas Square, 12:00 p.m.
Aukland (New Zealand) | Aotea Square, 2:00 p.m.
Barcelona (Spain) | Placa Saint Jaume, 12:00 p.m.
Bergen (Norway) | Torgallmenningen, 2:00 p.m.
Brisbane (Australia) | Brisbane Sq, 12:30 p.m.
Cardiff (UK) | Aneurin bevan Statue, Queen Street, 2:00 p.m.
Edinburgh (UK) | Charlotte sq, 12:00 p.m.
Frankfurt (Germany) | Hauptwache, 3:00 p.m.
London (UK) | Israeli Embassy, 2:00 p.m.
Melbourne (Australia) | Bourke St Mall, 12:30 p.m.

Newcastle (UK) | Grey’s Monument, 12:00 p.m.
Nottingham (UK)| Nottingham Market Square, 5:30 p.m.
Oslo (Norway) | Israeli Embassy, 2:00 p.m.
Portland (USA) | Pioneer Courthouse Sq, 12:00 p.m.
Sheffield (UK) | Outside the Town Hall, 12:00 p.m.
Stockholm (Sweden) | Israeli Embassy 3:00 p.m.
Swansea (UK) | Castle sq, 2:00 p.m.
Wrexham (UK) | Hope st., near Barclays, 11:00 p.m.

SUNDAY November 18

Antwerp (Holland) | ProvincieHuis, 1:00 p.m.
Hong Kong (China) | Victoria Park, 2:00 p.m.

MONDAY November 19

Berlin (Germany) | Brandenburge Tor, Pariser Platz 5:00 p.m.

UNITED STATES LIST OF ACTIONS
NOVEMBER 15-17:

The ANSWER Coalition urges everyone to go into the streets and join and organize a demonstration in your area. info@answercoalition.org.

Albuquerque, NM
Friday, Nov. 16, 5pm
UNM bookstore (Central and Cornell)
Contact: 505-268-2488 or abq@answercoalition.org

Baltimore, MD
Saturday, Nov. 17, 12noon
McKeldin Square
Contact: 443-759-9968 or baltimore@answercoalition.org

Boca Raton, FL
Thursday, Nov. 15, 9am-2pm
FAU Breezeway: 777 Glades Rd.

Boston, MA
Thursday, Nov. 15, 4:30pm
Copley Square

Chicago, IL
Thursday, Nov. 15, 4pm
Obama Headquarters, 130 E. Randolph St.
Contact: 773-463-0311

Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Saturday, Nov. 17, 2pm
Broward Federal Courthouse
299 East Broward Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA
Thursday, Nov. 15, 4pm
Israeli Consulate, 11766 Wilshire Blvd.
Contact: 213-251-1025 or answerla@answerla.org

New Haven, CT
Saturday, Nov. 17, 12 noon
141 Church St. (opposite the Green)
Contact: 203-903-4480 or ct@answercoalition.org

New York, NY
Thursday, Nov. 15, 5pm
In front of the Israeli Consulate (42nd St. and 2nd Ave.)

Philadelphia, PA
Friday, Nov. 16, 12 noon
Israeli Consulate: 1880 JFK Blvd.

San Francisco, CA
Thursday, Nov. 15, 5:15pm
Consulate General of Israel
456 Montgomery St Ste 1500, San Francisco

Syracuse, NY
Friday, Nov. 16, 12 noon
Federal building
Corner of Fayette St. and Clinton St.
Contact: 315-491-6987 or Syracuse@answercoalition.org

Washington, D.C.
Friday, Nov. 16, 6pm
Rally at the State Department (2201 C Street Northwest),
Followed by March to the White House
Contact: 202-265-1948 or dc@answercoalition.org
http://antiwarcommittee.org/2012/11/15/israelis-launch-major-assault-on-...

Sources and notes

“Double standards when it's Israel doing the killing: where are the calls for a no-fly zone over Gaza? … The Israeli government cynically launches military attacks as elections approach, safe in the knowledge that it always gets away with just a caution, at worst, from the ‘international community’” (Lindsey German), November 15, 2012, http://www.stopwar.org.uk/index.php/palestine-and-israel/2030-where-are-...

Press TV reports on Gaza
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/11/15/272472/gaza-rocket-strikes-south...
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/11/15/272495/israel-kills-teacher-work...
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/11/15/272487/israel-pm-oks-further-gaz...

“ACTION: Global list of scheduled protests against Israel’s attacks on Gaza” (Submitted by Nora Barrows-Friedman) November 15, 2012, http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora/action-global-list-scheduled-pr...

List compiled by @southsouth and @riverdryfilms; more demonstrations are being added.

Jewish Voice for Peace has compiled an extensive list of protests in North America.

Nora Barrows-Friedman reporting

Nora Barrows-Friedman, staff writer and editor with The Electronic Intifada, has since 2004 reported regularly from Palestine. She also contributes to Al-Jazeera English, Inter Press Service, Truthout.org, Left Turn magazine, and various other international media outlets.
From 2003-2010, Nora Barrows-Friedman was senior producer and co-host of “Flashpoints,” an award-winning investigative newsmagazine aired on KPFA/Pacifica Radio-Berkeley, California.

“ISRAELIS LAUNCH MAJOR ASSAULT ON GAZA Join Protests Nationwide! After getting the go - ahead from the Obama administration in a meeting at the White House on Monday, Israel has launched another major assault against the Palestinian people in Gaza. Israeli troops have been assembled at the order and are poised to invade Gaza again” (By AWC Staff ⋅ November 15, 2012 ⋅Post a comment, Filed Under ANSWER, Gaza, Israeli Occupation of Gaza, Posted by the ANSWER Coalition on November 14, 2012, http://antiwarcommittee.org/2012/11/15/israelis-launch-major-assault-on-...
http://antiwarcommittee.org/

War on Gaza 2008-2009

In Israel known as “Operation Cast Lead, in Gaza and by Hamas known as the “Gaza Massacre” or the “Battle of al-Furqan” [the criterion], the War on Gaza was a three-week armed conflict that took place in the Gaza Strip during the winter three years ago: December 27, 2008– January18,2009.

The Gaza War left an estimated 1,166 to 1,417 Palestinians dead, 9 Israelis (4 additional Israelis died from friendly fire).

Israel claimed the attack was to stop rocket fire into Israel and arms import into the Gaza strip; after the beginning of the conflict, Palestinian groups continued firing rockets in response to what they characterized as ‘massacres’.

In September 2009, a United Nations special mission headed by the South African Justice Richard Goldstone produced a report documenting what had happened during the war on Gaza. The Israeli government later rejected the report. No individual or entity has been held to account.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_War

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Posted by Bennett's Study at 5:58 PM
Labels: emergency protests of war on Gaza, Gaza massacre, Israel attacks Gaza, Middle East conflict, protest Israel attacks on Gaza, U.S. ally Israel, West's foreign relations double standard